Suspect in Gangjin elementary school disappearances indicted while in custody over alleged weapons possession

[Financial News] A man in his 40s who had been identified as a prime suspect in the serial disappearances of elementary school students in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province, has been indicted on suspicion of violating court-imposed conditions while under probation supervision after his release from prison.
According to legal sources on the 2nd, the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office indicted A, 47, while in custody on the 29th of last month on charges of violating the Act on the Attachment of Electronic Devices, etc.
A is accused of failing to comply with the court-imposed ban on possessing or storing weapons and the requirement to report in advance when possessing electronic information storage media.
The court had previously ordered A to wear a location-tracking electronic device (ankle monitor) and prohibited him from possessing or storing weapons. It also imposed a condition requiring him to report to the probation office in advance if he possessed electronic information storage media, such as a mobile phone or USB drive.
However, after being released on September 8, A lived at a temporary residence in Seoul's Dongdaemun District and is believed to have kept a weapon and electronic information storage media, among other items, without notifying the authorities.
The Seoul Probation Office of the Ministry of Justice arrested A in the act last month. The Seoul Northern District Court issued a detention warrant on the 16th of the same month, citing concerns that he might destroy evidence, and the probation office transferred A to prosecutors in custody a week later. A is currently being held at the Seoul Dongbu Detention Center.
A was previously investigated in connection with the serial disappearances of elementary school students in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province. However, he has never been indicted or punished in connection with that case.
In the Gangjin elementary school disappearances, a second-grade girl and a first-grade girl disappeared, respectively, on their way home from school in Gangjin in June 2000 and June 2001. Neither child has been found to this day. In the mid-2000s, police identified A as a prime suspect and investigated him, but failed to secure direct evidence proving the crimes.
A also has a history of violent crime. In 2002, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing with a weapon his then-wife's biological younger sibling, who opposed their reconciliation, during their divorce. He completed his sentence and was released in July 2017, but the following year he was indicted again on charges including raping a woman in her 40s with a Grade 3 intellectual disability and filing a false marriage registration. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, served time before being released last September.

[email protected] Seo Ji-yoon Reporter